Japan Airlines is studying options to set up a Low-cost carrier.

Japan Airlines is exploring the possibility of setting up a new low cost carrier to increase capacity and to curtail the rising budget airlines.

“Starting a discount airline is part of the carrier’s need to widen its product lineup” said the Vice Chairwoman Junko Okawa in an interview in Singapore on Monday.

Japan Airlines faces competition from its rival All Nippon Airlines which recorded profits for the past few years; and also budget carriers AirAsia Japan, Jetstar Japan and Peach Aviation have taken away passengers from full service operators in a country where bullet trains offer stiff competition to planes on domestic routes.

“JAL has been focusing on premium full service so far, but as the popularity of LCCs spreads far and wide in the region, it is natural for companies like JAL to expand their lineup to low price,” said Kyouko Amemiya, a senior market adviser at SBI Securities. in Tokyo.

As part of its expansion plan, JAL is seeking more takeoff and landing slots at Tokyo’s Haneda airport and is in preparation for preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics.